Showing 1 - 10 of 206
Sea people still wait for justice
Editorial, Published on 26/05/2024
» Against a background in which the government refuses to recognise indigenous peoples, two recent landmark court verdicts have acknowledged the rights of Urak Lawoi, or Chao Lay in Thai (sea people) to live and earn a living in their traditional homes. Efforts to give them justice must not stop here. Their fight for their traditional rights are far from over.
Telling fortunes 'a nice little earner'
Roger Crutchley, Published on 26/05/2024
» A recent Thai news story concerned a man nabbed in an online fortune-telling scam. He would inform customers suffering from misfortune that their situation would dramatically improve if for a small fee he made a few prayers on his "direct line" to the deities in heaven.
The high costs of new US tariffs on Chinese EVs
Published on 25/05/2024
» US President Joe Biden’s administration has just announced 100% tariffs on electric vehicles (EVs) manufactured in China, prompting Donald Trump to promise a 200% tariff on Chinese cars made in Mexico if he is elected in November. Neither policy would have notable effects on the US car market because imports of Chinese EVs are minuscule, owing to past tariffs and the anti-Chinese sentiment that has gripped the country in recent years. Nonetheless, the announcement is significant for three reasons.
The high costs of new US tariffs on Chinese EVs
Oped, Published on 25/05/2024
» US President Joe Biden’s administration has just announced 100% tariffs on electric vehicles (EVs) manufactured in China, prompting Donald Trump to promise a 200% tariff on Chinese cars made in Mexico if he is elected in November. Neither policy would have notable effects on the US car market because imports of Chinese EVs are minuscule, owing to past tariffs and the anti-Chinese sentiment that has gripped the country in recent years. Nonetheless, the announcement is significant for three reasons.
What do Indian women want from poll?
Oped, Published on 25/05/2024
» Since April 19, the day general elections began in India, voters have queued up outside polling booths, braving a muggy, scorching heatwave. The mood appears mostly upbeat. Voters talk to TV news reporters. They articulate wishes for change or belief in the incumbent leader.
PM bitten by travel bug
Oped, Editorial, Published on 25/05/2024
» Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin was set to conclude his overseas trips to France, Italy and Japan on Friday amid questions, if not criticism, over the real benefits they will bring the country.
War is at the heart of the UK's summer election
Published on 25/05/2024
» Rishi Sunak’s election announcement on Wednesday afternoon was such a farce that people could be forgiven for ignoring what he said.
Thailand's judiciary faces challenges
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 24/05/2024
» Thailand appears to be a country of 70 million, ultimately ruled by an unelected few. This sobering reality was on display when two connected groups of top generals seized power from democratically elected governments in September 2006 and May 2014. Unlike these blatant military coups over the past two decades, at issue now is the power and role of the judiciary. While Thailand has another democratically elected civilian government under Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, the question that needs to be asked is whether the country is effectively under judicial rule.
PM's drug reforms echo past errors
Oped, Published on 24/05/2024
» When Thailand's Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin announced plans to reschedule cannabis as a narcotic and reduce the threshold for possession of methamphetamine for personal use (not for supply to others) from five pills to one, he signalled a return to drug policies championed over two decades ago. He called for crackdowns on people in the drug trade, for people who use drugs to be placed into rehabilitation facilities and demanded results in 90 days.
Has crunch time arrived for 'Bibi' Netanyahu?
News, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 24/05/2024
» It has not been a good week for Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu, chief decision-maker in the war in the Gaza Strip that has already cost at least 35,000 civilian deaths. (Some thousands of those 35,000 may have been Hamas fighters.)